Don't Judge: Purplelocks was born this way.

I wish my puppets were capable of more facial expression than they were and I REALLY wish I would have noticed that Cool Whip container before I published the video, but without further ado: Here it is in all it's ridiculous glory! Purplelocks and the Three Bears!

It helps if you press "Publish"....My treatment (now after the fact)

In my French classes, I use the AIM method to teach French. It is a new(er) program designed by Wendy and Matt Maxwell and it uses gestures to teach French as a second language. The content is presented through songs and plays based on one story. Several of the stories are fairy tales like Chicken Little, the Three Pigs, and the Three Bears. Last summer, a fellow French teacher sent me an email telling me to check out a video. She guaranteed me it was hilarious and I would love it. The video was based on the AIM version of the three little pigs. The production was done with hand puppets in some guy’s living room and the dialogue was set to a Lady Gaga song.  It was ridiculously entertaining, my students loved it and I found they were all very eager to learn the words so they could sing along. I have often thought about doing one of my annual French plays as an ode to Lady Gaga, but have never had the time, opportunity, or guts to try it out. Upon learning I would be required to complete a video project for this class, I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to Gaga-fy the upcoming unit for Purplelocks and the Three Bears.

I plan to create a short video that presents the story of Purplelocks and her shenanigans in the bears’ house and set the dialogue to another popular song. I’m tempted to try something out of the Gaga realm, but I want to ensure it is still a song or genre that will appeal to my elementary students.  I believe that a lot of the charm of the video comes from its questionable production values. I hope to prove my knowledge of video design while maintaining the campy-ness of the original video.

Production decisions will be modeled after the original video: The sets will be made with bulletin board paper and other small crafty items, I hope to find a set of hand puppets from the university or local children’s store (although I will have to make Goldilocks’ hair purple somehow) and the song will be sung by me over a karaoke track. As in the original video, French subtitles will accompany each line of the song so that beginning learners can keep up with the quick delivery of language. I may also include a version with English subtitles on the DVD.

Don't Forget the Lyrics!

So, I think writing a song from scratch would have been far easier than trying to force-fit Purplelocks and the Three Bears into "Born This Way". It was certainly no easy feat, but it is done! As you can tell, I decided to stick with the Gaga theme. I can't even give you a good justification of this decision...it just seemed like the right thing to do.
So here are the lyrics and as such, my script!

[Verse:]

Voici l’histoire de Boucles Violettes
Boucles Violettes et les trois ours.

Un jour, les ours decide d’aller marcher
C’est comme ça que l’histoire commence.

Une petite fille aux boucles violettes
Arrive et entre dans la maison.

Elle va dans la cuisine, dans le salon
Apres, elle entre dans la chambre.

[Chorus:]

Il y a trois choses à manger,
trois instruments à jouer,
Après tout ça, elle choisi un lit
et va se coucher.

Maintenant, qui est là?
C’est les ours. Ca ne va pas
Ils voient les choses qui sont casser
et ils sont très facher!

[Post-chorus:]
Boucles, boucles, Violettes
Elle entre par la grosse fenêtre
Elle casse les choses de les trois ours.

Boucles, boucles, Violettes
Elle n’est pas tellement chouette
Elle n’est pas tres gentille
Dans la maison des ours.

Casse la guitare, saute sur les lits, et puis elle mange tous les biscuits. (x2)

[Verse:]

Dans la cuisine elle
mange se qu’elle veut:
la pizza, soupe et un biscuit

Elle joue les instruments dans le salon
mais elle joue trop fort, casse la guitar.

Puis elle entre dans la chambre a coucher
et commence a sauter sur les lit (sur les lits)
Elle casse le lit de pauvre Bebe Ours
mais elle se couche au lit casser quand meme

[Repeat chorus + post-chorus]

[Bridge:]

Les ours reviennent a la maison,
voit la cuisine et le salon.
Ils voient tous leur choses manger
et leurs instrument mal arranger
Ils entrent dans la chambre des lits         
et la ils trouvent une petit fille.
Les ours ne peut pas la croire,
dans le lit casser, la fille s’endort!

Boucles Violettes se reveille
et crie comme une gros bebe
Elle cour au foret parce qu’elle
A peur des trois ours

"Petite fille, viens ici!
Pourquoi est-ce que tu as partie?
Les trois ours sont gentils
Et on veut etre tes amis! "

[Repeat chorus]

I Had a Dream

No, really. I dreamt of all of you and how much fun you are having at Emma without me. JR's project was especially exciting! He made a commercial selling a Super Grover BBQ to the under 10 crowd. It was definitely not safe, but it looked totally cool. Feel free to follow through with that in real life, JR!

So I made a retirement video for one of the teachers at my school. I actually finished it on Wednesday night, but somewhere between Maidstone and Lashburn it evaporated off my laptop! I bet it happened at Waseca. Waseca is kind of sketchy from what I hear....I have no doubt they've got some kind of Bermuda Triangle thing happening there. Anyway! As a result of this spontaneous disappearance, I had to redo the entire video before the assembly at 1pm. After some stalling, snacks, and a brain wave dance I sprinted to the gym at 1:45. It is not as awesome as the first one, but considering it was done in 4 hours in a room full of students playing computer games, I think it's pretty okay!

I think you'll especially enjoy the progression of lighting. You can tell when I finally got good at it and there aren't a million shadows! Can you spot the clips?

Final Project Inspiration

The inspiration for my final video project comes from this video. I love the AIM program and my students love this video. I'd like to take one of the other plays (L'arbre Ungali, perhaps?) and create a similar type of video. Maybe not with Lady Gaga, but something trendy that the kids would engage in. You should watch it. It's hilarious.

Assignment One

How very unlike me, doing things out of sequential order. Guess that means the OCD meds really ARE working. And without further adieu (pronounced ah-dyou, NOT ah-doo) my moderately verbose ponderings on Bill Nye the Science Guy.

Assignment one asked us to watch an educational television program and examine its goals, objectives, and production techniques. The television show I chose was “Greatest Inventions with Bill Nye: Engineering and Architecture”. Had I read the assignment beforehand, I would have remembered that the show we chose was supposed to be a maximum of fifteen minutes long. Instead, I watched Bill Nye jabber on about bridges, canals, and freeways for an hour. TWICE – because I couldn’t focus on the content and the production at the same time. Regardless of my error, I did analyze the video and, to be perfectly honest, it was quite repetitive so I can comment on one segment and the whole video all at once. If only I had recognized that after the first hour! Oh well, you know what they say about hindsight…

I believe the goals and objectives of this program are mainly information dissemination-based. The segments are quite short and don’t delve into any of the topic matter beyond a superficial level, but the basic facts are presented along with some interesting asides. It is definitely an edutainment video – seemingly dull, curricular information passed along in the most exciting way possible.

The program had everything education theory says a lesson should have. The whole production started with an introduction outlining the topics to be discussed in short, flashy, vibrant clips (well hello there, motivational set!). The segments of the video were separated like a text book would be with each different architectural or engineering focus being a separate chapter. Each chapter started with an interesting fact or a demonstration of why the architecture was forced to adapt and evolve (like a clip of the Tacoma narrows bridge swaying in the wind and falling into the water). In several segments, clips of school-aged kids participating in a “real-life” experiment (popsicle stick bridges, anyone?) were included, making the content more relevant and accessible for the students. Other educational features of the video included: labels (both visual and audio) on complex diagrams or explanations as well as abundant review and summarization at the end of each clip and also at the end of the video.

Moving onto the video production side of things, I noticed a lot of diversity when it came to shot choices. More specifically, their shot choices made sense – they weren’t just added in for the sake of switching it up – and they added to the information being presented. Case in point, a low-angle shot of a pair of feet walking down a cobblestone road illustrated the realities of the first roads and a dolly shot simulated travelling down the road in the interstate segment. In addition, low and high angles of skyscrapers and panoramic views of skylines help perpetuate the grandeur of those buildings. Many times, a zoom technique was used on still photos to give the illusion of movement and provide focus.

In class, Jay said that sound is crucial to the quality of a video and that was apparent in several ways in this video. First off, the musical choices were very well made. The music was generic without being too elevator-esque - French accordion music could be heard in the segments about city development in Paris, Charleston music was used during clips of bridges from the 20s, and a modern driving beat was used in the interstate scenes. Most of the audio in this video was excellent and complemented the visual quite nicely. One notable exception was an interview scene with a professional in the water treatment section. They interviewed him outside of the water station and had the waterfall sound in the background. While creating authenticity, it felt like white noise in the background and I found it very distracting.

In the miscellaneous and not-very-surprising category, I noticed that green screen was used in several scenes. The effect was somewhat comedic, yet still fit into the general tone of the presentation. There were many transitions between clips and they varied in complexity. Some were a simple fade or wipe, and others used custom animations instead. Of course, there was also a flashy introduction at the beginning with theme music and clips of cool experiments from other episodes and a credit reel at the end. Both included bright colours, lots of movement, and catchy music.

All in all, I think it was well produced; and who doesn’t love Bill Nye? I would definitely use this with my students if I were ever given the opportunity to teach about architecture or engineering. Bill certainly makes it more entertaining (and accurate!) than I could. MissPeaswiki give it an enthusiastic 4 film reels out of 5.

Assignment Two

Seems I'm putting the cart before the horse a little here by posting assignment two before assignment one. What can I say, assignment two was a lot more fun and I just haven't gotten around to typing up my thoughts on Bill Nye the Science Guy yet.
But I digress.
Here it is: My 33 production shots. Since I'm sure your brains are all drained after making your OWN videos, I've included which shots I intended each scene to be as a subtitle. If you'd like to watch the video SANS subtitle, check it out on YouTube here.

Enjoy!

And the Shot List:

 

Pan – still subject	0:54-1:00
Pan – moving subject	4:02-4:11
Pan – swish pan	1:43
Long shot	0:01
Medium shot	3:22-3:34
Close-up	2:44
Extreme close-up	2:47
Cut-in	3:35
Cut-away	1:23-1:26
Head-on	1:04-1:12
Tail-away	4:58
Tilt	1:01-1:03
High angle	1:49-2:19
Flat angle	4:12-4:38
Low angle	2:33-2:47
Zoom in	3:37/4:49
Zoom out	3:42
Balance	1:13-1:22
Rule of thirds	2:20-2:32
Dolly	1:27-1:42
Truck	4:39-4:48
Reportorial	0:24-0:41
Objective perspective	2:48-3:04
Subjective perspective	3:05-3:20
Selective focus	0:42-0:51
Title	5:03
Matte or effects	1:34-1:38
Wipe shot	0:02
Follow focus	4:49-4:58
One light	4:12-4:22
Two light	4:23-4:31
Three light	4:32-4:38
Sequence – establishing shot, medium shot, close-up, and re-establishing shot	0:02-0:23



Lessons Learned

I have learned several crucial lessons about video making this week. Allow me to share them with you:
1. Oven mitts are a great (and necessary) investment when working with lighting.
2. No-name polysporin does not facilitate healing as quickly as the real thing.
3. When you tell your star actor that it will only take an hour to record, make sure it will actually only take an hour.
4. Being a good baker is a guarantee for good bribery of video talent.
5. 9" chocolate chip cookies take almost two-thirds longer to cook than regular-sized cookies.
6. Kids are terrible secret keepers.
7. If you decide it would be a good idea to stand on a homemade trolley and race down the hallway in the dark with a video camera attached to your arm, wear a helmet. And consider providing wrapping your camera in bubble wrap.
8. When trying to get a great high angle shot, thoroughly consider the stability of the item you are standing on to get above the video subject. Four milk crates stacked one on top of the other is not recommended. Removing ceiling tiles and hooking your arm through the open grid while standing on said milk crates is also ill-advised.
9. Stroyboarding is way harder than you'd think. How do you account for spur of the moment inspiration?
10. It is really difficult to separate some of the 33 production shots. How is a medium shot that different from a head-on or a flat angle? How do you create a shot specifically showcasing balance or the rule of thirds. Shouldn't those be included in every shot?
11. Jane Fonda has got nothing on 875. Between the running, climbing, and excessive laughter, we could make a killing on a fitness video. 50 sit-ups? No thanks. Laughing so hard you FEEL like you did 50 sit-ups? Yes indeed!

I definitely feel like I have gotten my tuition worth of educational moments this week  and we are only a month into the class!

In the beginning...

I feel one thing about this class and video designing in general - overwhelemed. I have about a million 'great ideas' for videos whirling around my head at any given moment but can I bring those ideas to reality? I doubt it. I hate to be a Debbie Downer, but I am a perfectionist - a type-A personality - and nothing bothers me more than working like a mad fool on something only to have reality pale in comparison to the image I had in my head. I just don't feel like I have the expertise to accomplish something awesome and less than awesome just isn't good enough for me.

Current ideas keeping me up at night:
A touchy-feely commercially feeling video about teachers. Why they teach, how they make a difference, who cares, etc. Basically what I wish the STF would produce to ramp up the positive ideas about teachers.
Problem - I think I'm too emotionally involved to make sense of the whole thing.

Day in the life of a dog. After reading Garth Stein's The Art of Racing in the Rain, I often find myself wondering what my dog, Monty, is thinking. I'd like to think he has some incredibly insightful thoughts on the world he lives in. Plus, I think it would be a neat perspective to see my world from 5 inches off the ground.
Problem - Can I convincingly make it seem like a dog's perspective? Do I really want to crawl around on the floor, in the yard, etc.?

A spoof on Behind the Music for a teacher who is retiring this year. Interviews with colleagues and students who have been part of her career, exploring some of the ups and down of her experiences, etc. Lots of opportunity for hilarity - my favourite thing!
Problem - Content. How do I create video from the past that doesn't exist? Working with kids on video is a pain. Who knows if I'll get anything I can actually use in the final production.

There are others as well. I could type for days and still not have all the ideas out. I think I'm meant to be the creative genius in this process...not the videographer/editor. So who is willing to pay me for good ideas? Not to sell myself short, but from experience, a lot of my 'good' ideas turn out to require an obscene amount of work. Just putting that out there in advance.